Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
17. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to outline any engagements he or his Department has had with any stakeholder or body under his Department’s aegis on a matter (details supplied); if he will provide an update in respect of this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13323/26]
View answerThe introduction of a visitor accommodation levy was proposed in Foundations for the Future, the Report of the Commission on Taxation and Welfare published in September 2022 and, more recently, in Capital City, the report of the Dublin City Taskforce published in October 2024, specifically for Dublin City. In the case of the latter, the proposed levy was presented as part of the funding mechanism to support implementation of the actions in the Dublin City Taskforce Report.
The Programme for Government commits to implementing the Dublin City Centre Taskforce recommendations and to apply the taskforce model to other cities, towns and regions in need of revitalisation.
The Interdepartmental Group (IDG) on the Dublin City Centre Taskforce Report which is led by the Department of the Taoiseach published its report and accompanying roadmap in June 2025 and these provide a course of action to implement the Taskforce’s recommendations.
An oversight Board led by the Department of the Taoiseach, with broad representation from across Government, including the Local Authority, Dublin City Council and agencies such as Fáilte Ireland was established to oversee implementation of the roadmap and associated actions. The implementation board established a financing subgroup to consider and report back on a number of funding mechanisms, including a visitor accommodation levy, to support the implementation of the actions arising from the Dublin City Taskforce Report. I understand that both the implementation group and financing sub group have met on a number of occasions throughout 2025.
The introduction of such a levy needs careful consideration, given the importance of inbound international tourism to Ireland's economy, regionally and nationally. Any visitor accommodation levy would have to take account of many issues, including who will be liable to pay it; for example, whether its application would be limited to international visitors or extended to all visitors, including domestic visitors and how the levy would be collected. The geographic scope of such a measure is also an issue for consideration.
To date, a proposal for an accommodation levy has not been finalised or agreed. If such a proposal is agreed it will be presented to Government for consideration and if approved by Government, actions including a stakeholder engagement campaign would be required in advance of any implementation.
